Holden remembers boy killed in crash

In Holden and Hopkinton, friends and family of 13-year-old Shayne M. Desroches are mourning his sudden death as authorities continue to investigate the details of the car crash that caused it.

Shayne, on his way home from basketball practice, was across the street from his house on Hayden Rowe Street in Hopkinton when the crash occurred last Wednesday afternoon, said his grandfather, David Desroches of Holden. Authorities initially said Shayne was riding his bicycle, but Mr. Desroches said Sunday that the boy was on foot, pushing his bike, because the bike had a bad tire.

A 16-year-old girl was driving the car that hit Shayne. No charges have been filed, but the Middlesex district attorney's office and state police are still investigating.

"It's devastating," Mr. Desroches said.

Hayden Rowe Street is also Route 85, a busy thoroughfare in Hopkinton, where Shayne lived since 2010 and was an eighth-grader at Hopkinton Middle School. He spent the first 10 years of his life in Holden, where he attended Davis Hill Elementary School, according to his obituary.

Shayne lived with his mother, Amanda Desroches, and her boyfriend and her boyfriend's family, according to Mr. Desroches.

Shayne enjoyed sports and electronic dance music, and he loved to make people laugh, his obituary says. His grandparents drove to Hopkinton on the weekends to watch his soccer and lacrosse games.

Shayne had a large extended family. After his death, a few of his school friends set up a Facebook page in his honor. The page includes a picture of big white signs hanging inside Hopkinton Middle School, full of messages from students.

Friends, family and others also posted messages in an online guestbook.

"It's incredible how much everyone in Hopkinton misses and is honoring Shayne," wrote one friend, Haley Sinacole. "He was one of my camp friends, and his sense of humor and laugh made coming to camp every day such a blast."

Even those who didn't know Shayne were shaken by his death. A 13-year-old boy in Holden named Adam, who never met Shayne, has started raising money for Shayne's family on Facebook.

Adam attends Mountview Middle School in Holden and has friends who knew Shayne in elementary school. "I decided to set up this fund because I had my neighbor die by being hit by a car in August and no one did much about it, but I know people who knew Shayne and it was very upsetting to my whole school so I felt I needed to do something to help the family," he said in an online message. "I am trying to raise $300.00+… but it is hard since I am only 13 and do not have a (credit) card, but I am trying to get money somehow."

Shayne's mother has asked that memorial contributions be sent to "The Sky's the Limit," a project to convert unused courtyard space at Hopkinton Middle School into learning and recreation space.

Authorities have not released the name of the teen driver who hit Shayne. Officers responded to the crash at 4:47 p.m. on Sept. 18. Hopkinton police referred questions to the district attorney's office.

Stephanie Chelf Guyotte, a spokeswoman for Middlesex District Attorney Marian T. Ryan, said Sunday, "The cause and circumstances are under investigation."